But they were hardly in a celebratory mood following the 36-17 win at Central Mountain. Yes, Williamsport is happy its winning, but it has the big picture squarely in focus. The climb continues but better to try and scale those heights while winning and the Millionaires have now done that in seven of their last eight regular season games.

It was a strong complementary effort, too. Kahyear Whaley and Giovanni White both topped 100 rushing yards, the starting defense allowed just 10 points and Parker Johnson kicked three field goals as Williamsport continued its winning ways.

Not that it is satisfied.

“We shouldn’t be celebrating in the locker room,” Whaley said after running for a career-high 133 yards and scoring two touchdowns. “People think Williamsport football is back, which it is, but we still have a lot more potential than everybody sees. We have a lot to work on. We just have to learn to build more trust.”

Kahyear Whaley (23) of Williamsport runs for a touchdown against Central Mountain in the first half at Central Mountain High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

“Everybody knows you have to be responsible for your business,” Williamsport coach Mike Pearson said. “This team is starting to mature and you want to enjoy it because it’s the greatest game there is, but you also have to be aware that there are a lot of great teams in this area and you have to get better every week.”

So, it’s back to the lab after another double-digit victory. That Williamsport was unfulfilled following the victory says a lot. This is a team hungry to build off its strong finish last season. And with District 2 having four teams again, Williamsport is in the hunt for its first district title since 2016. Instead of having to go through the eight-team District 2-4-11 subregionals, it will be a four-team district field this year.

To get there, Williamsport knows it must play better. Still, there are plenty of positives and those shined through again as the Millionaires built a 33-3 lead entering the fourth quarter and made an impact in all three areas while making their HAC-I debut a successful one.

“We’re 3-0 but we have so much to fix,” White said after rushing for a career-best 110 yards, scoring a touchdown and setting up another with a long punt return. “We just have to keep working.”

Central Mountain (0-3) is embracing a similar mentality. The Wildcats are one of the area’s youngest teams and feature mostly first time starters this season. So, what they did against Williamsport bodes well going forward.

Giovanni White (12) of Williamsport is tackled by Kole Corman (19) of Central Mountain at Central Mountain High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Central Mountain played its best game, showing massive improvement from a week ago at Bloomsburg. The defense made three red zone stops, Hunter Hoy totaled two second half touchdowns and Mycah Carsons kicked a 30-yard field goal. The building blocks are many and Central Mountain hopes this game can be a launching pad.

“The big thing was keeping the guys believing in the things that we wanted to establish. They did a good job with that,” Central Mountain coach Travis Thompson said. “They stuck it out and, even though losses are never fun and you don’t want to to do it, this was a much better loss than last week.”

White knew all week that he would be getting the ball on Williamsport’s opening play. A player who excelled on special teams last season is showing he can do so in all all areas now and instantly made his mark.

Following a tremendous block from Brady Neenan, White exploded through the hole on the left side, made a quick cut and raced 73 yards to the Central Mountain 6-yard line. Three plays later, quarterback Elijah Way (143 passing yards) took a draw six yards for the touchdown and Williamsport was ahead to stay.

“Brady Neenan came on a pull and blocked exactly how he’s supposed to. A big hole opened up and I just ran as fast as hard as I could,” Whie said. “I had been thinking about it all day. I knew I had to come out and execute.”

Samir Williams (25) of Williamsport blocks the punt by Kole Corman (19) of Central Mountain at Central Mountain High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Johnson executed well all night and kicked the first of his three field goals, a 31-yarder, on the ensuing series as Williamsport went ahead, 10-0. Central Mountain became the first offense to score against Williamsport this season when Mycah Carsons drilled a 30-yard field goal and it remained 10-3 until later in the second quarter.

That is when Williamsport’s special teams made two game-changing plays. First, White broke free down the left sideline for a 37-yard punt return which set up his 7-yard touchdown run. Three plays later the defense forced a punt and Samir Williams charged through the line, blocking the kick and giving Williamsport the ball at Central Mountain’s 13-yard line.

The Millionaires needed just one play to cash in as Way found Whaley for a touchdown on a screen play to put them ahead, 24-3. Whaley was hit inside the 5, but charged through the defenders and into the end zone for a third straight week.

“Gio came out with that first big run and I had to come out with confidence,” Whaley said. “I had no other choice. Even if it it was a 1 or 2-yard gain, I still had to run that ball hard.”

Whaley did that throughout the second half, gaining 90 yards on eight carries. Linemen Neenan, Coroza Minor, Owen Newcomer, Dallas Brockway, Jaxson Thompson and Kaleb Way started asserting themselves up front and Whaley showed both power and explosiveness, ripping off runs of 27 and 22 yards to set up his 1-yard touchdown run which put Williamsport ahead 33-3 early in the fourth quarter.

Anthony Manley (34) of Williamsport takes down Hunter Hoy (2) of Central Mountain at Central Mountain High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Whaley topped 100 yards for a second time in three games and that line has helped give Way the time to throw six touchdowns without an interception. Kyreek Bradshaw hauled in a 55-yard dime from Way to set up another Johnson field goal and Tevin Williams helped ignite a first-half scoring drive, catching three passes for 61 yards.

“We have to feed off each other and the line makes it roll,” White said. “Elijah had that big run, too. It’s a full team effort.”

That extends to a defense which dominated throughout the first three quarters. The starters allowed their first 10 points this season but also limited Central Mountain to 79 yards on 39 plays entering the fourth quarter. They also dropped Central Mountain ball-carriers for losses nine times during that time.

Linebackers Lucas Naughton, Kai Payton and Anthony Manley all made more than five tackles with Manley making two key tackles for losses late in the first half. Jayden Ransom was tough on the edge and was in on three straight tackles to open the night, while Sam Allison and Jason Love-Ritchey combined for three tackles for loss.

Add in Johnson booming field goals from 31, 34 and 27 yards, while sending all six kickoffs inside the 5-yard line, and all three phases came together again.

Giovanni White (12) of Williamsport runs for a touchdown against Central Mountain in the first half at Central Mountain High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

“I think the team is confident in me. I’m confident in them that they can take it to the house in the end zone and I can get the extra points,” Johnson said. “I’m happy they’re doing their job, and that I can back it up with mine.”

Central Mountain players also did their jobs well as the game progressed. Hoy was especially strong, totaling 125 yards and two touchdowns in his third start at quarterback. Cooper Bottorf and Kole Corman each ran well throughout the second half and Corman seemed to be everywhere defensively.

Hoy helped Central Mountain became the first team to score an offensive touchdown against Williamsport in the fourth quarter when he made a highlight fourth-down play. Despite pressure up the middle, Hoy avoided a sack, rolled left, stepped into the pocket and found Jace Seitzer for a 35-yard touchdown. It was Seitzer’s second touchdown catch in two games and Hoy, fighting off leg cramps, made it consecutive scoring drives when he capped a 71-yard march with a 10-yard touchdown run in the game’s final seconds.

“Hunter is a gamer,” Thompson said. “He gets beat up and takes some hits but he doesn’t want to be out. He wants to be in there as much as he can to help the team.”

Giovanni White (12) and Zion Hughes (1) of Williamsport take down Jake Weaver (8) of Central Mountain at Central Mountain High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Elijah Way (15) of Williamsport takes the ball from center against Central Mountain at Central Mountain High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Lucas Naughton (19) of Williamsport takes down Jake Weaver (8) of Central Mountain at Central Mountain High School. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette